Weekly horoscopes: Aug. 11-17

Christopher Renstrom is the creator of Rulingplanets.com which is his idea of an on-line, subscription-based, interactive Astrology Magazine. It is based on his bestselling book Ruling Planets, which was published by HarperCollins in 200...

You can do it!

You’ll want to roll up your sleeves and knuckle down when Mars forms a sextile to Pluto this week. This is a highly motivated planetary combo, which means that it’s the perfect time to train for a marathon, to start a new diet (you’ll actually lose weight this time) or commit to that creative project you always dreamed of doing one day. Nothing can stop you. Not only are you determined to change the habits of a lifetime, but you will go the distance because you are supremely results driven. You will find that you can reshape most anything according to your will — within reason, of course. You may not be able to bend spoons by staring at them, but it will be the next best thing.

You believe in change. You're not one for maintaining the status quo or for burying your head in the sand. Nevertheless, the Moon/Uranus occultation on Aug. 14 gives you moment for pause when a monkey wrench is tossed into your carefully detailed plans. This gets you questioning whether you are moving too quickly or forcefully toward your goal. Perhaps. But when is it ever the right time for change? Know that what you're doing isn't haphazard, and even though people may resist and resent, they will still follow your lead because they know that change is good.